Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Postcard from Beale Street , by Eric Hughes   Band and it contains a variety of music styles and turns. Opening with shuffle, Ain't Whipped Yet , Hughes is upfront on lead vocal and sweaty slide with Walter Hughes on backing guitar and vocal, Leo Goff on bass, and Brian Aylor on drums. Great guitar tones by Eric give this track a great spice. Oh, Booze! has a terrific, early Beale feel with solid vocals by Eric, with trumpet by Marc Franklin, Kirk Smothers on sax and Mick Kolassa on tussolin, spoons and backing exclamations. Ballad, Homesick Angel is the definite radio track on the release with a strong melody, solid backing vocals and tight accompaniment. Straight up acoustic blues ballad, Blackberry Patch has Eric on lead vocal and slide resonator over Walter on guitar. Simple and solid. Blues rocker, Waiting For That Day has a super boogie (woogie) feel with a great bass line by Goff, organ by Steff and harmoni...

I just received the new release, Drink Up , by the Eric Hughes Band and it's quite good. Starting off with the title track, Drink Up , a classic jump rocker. This track not only has the beat but it also has great unusual guitar riffs and a little bit of sense of humor. That's My Baby's Mama takes a whole new turn with a pop R&B sound and solid radio vocals. Blues Magician is a great track with a slick guitar hook. I really like the choice of rhythm guitar harmony. This is extremely solid and in addition to the the funky bottom really sets the tone. Lead guitar riffs from Hughes are hot and this is definitely one of my favorite tracks on this release. Frostina is another funky track with great key work from Robert Nighthawk Tooms. With Texas guitar rhythm and overdriven guitar solos this is a track with a lot of character. The first real straight forward blues track, Tested Positive For The Blues , is a great swingin boogie blues with great harp and piano work. Talki...

I just received and had the opportunity to review the newest release, Two In The Morning , by The Eric Hughes Band . This new release is made up of 14 tracks showing influences from rock, blues, country, funk... a little bit of everything. The recording starts off with Did You Have To Take The Dog Too? , a comedic tale of breakup. There's a nice harp breakout in this song (and consistently throughout the release). Holler If You Hear Me adds a little funk to the blues and has a great little guitar burst from Brad Webb to break things up. Muddy Waters Records another tale of break up and a man being separated from his blues records. The tune follows a Muddy Waters format and is overlaid with some cool harp work. Along Came You has a strong bass line and voice trace guitar line that is very effective. Chevy 2-Door is a man and his resonator singing about leaving. A pretty cool song. Volkswagen Blues is a more traditional blues song in the manner of Elmore James, just acoustic and ...